Hoppers Review: Pixar’s New Animal Squad Could Rival Ice Age & Madagascar

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Pixar has once again delivered a fantastic film, solidifying its reputation as a leader in animation with beautiful visuals, engaging stories, and genuine emotion.

The story follows Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda), a passionate and quick-tempered young woman living in Beaverton, who decides to protect a local forest from being torn down by the mayor, Jerry (Jon Hamm), for a new highway. While trying to save the forest, she discovers a secret technology that lets her temporarily inhabit the bodies of animals. She uses this ability to disguise herself as a beaver and join the animal community, led by the sweet and innocent King George (Bobby Moynihan). Her plan is to convince the animals to return to their lost home in the forest, but things don’t always go as planned.

The movie is fundamentally a story about protecting the environment and what it means to be human. Despite tackling such serious themes, Hoppers manages to be surprisingly relatable and often genuinely funny.

Hoppers Blends Heart & Humor

Hoppers Has a Stacked Voice Cast

The movie is full of incredibly cute animated animals. What makes them even more endearing is the unique way the world of the “Hoppers” works: these animals seem human-like only to those using the special “hopper” technology. Otherwise, they appear as simple, innocent creatures. This clever shift between appearances is used powerfully during the film’s most emotional moments.

The show quickly introduces Mabel’s animal friends, including the clumsy beaver Loaf (Eduardo Franco) and the bear Ellen (Melissa Villaseñor). They help connect Mabel with King George, and each character is instantly likable thanks to their unique personalities. Their interactions are genuinely funny, appealing to both children and adults – similar to how Pixar films successfully entertain a wide range of ages. While Hoppers is generally great for kids ages six and up, some scenes towards the end might be a little scary for younger viewers, like my three-year-old.

The show introduces a lot of new characters alongside Mabel and her friends, and surprisingly, most of them are fully developed and memorable. They each have unique personalities and quirks, even if they don’t play a major role in the story. One particularly great example is Diane, a shark assassin—she appears during a suspenseful scene but is also hilariously funny, especially with Vanessa Bayer from Saturday Night Live providing her voice.

I’m honestly amazed by how well this movie handles its huge cast – I almost forgot to mention the incredible Meryl Streep as the snobby insect queen and Dave Franco as her stuck-up son! What’s really impressive is that every character feels important. The actors are fantastic, the writing is sharp, but it’s the world they’ve built that truly shines. From the funny ‘pond rules’ to the big scene with all the animal kingdom leaders, everything feels so well thought out and perfectly suited to this story. Honestly, I could see this becoming a huge franchise!

Hoppers Seems Bound for a Sequel (Or 5)

While Hoppers wraps up its main storyline perfectly, leaving no questions unanswered, it seems likely we’ll see a continuation. A potential roadblock to a sequel could easily be resolved, and although Mabel’s story feels finished, it would be wonderful to see her guide a new, younger protagonist in a future installment.

I truly think audiences are going to love seeing these characters again! The main animal characters just clicked with each other right away, and honestly, their dynamic reminds me of the fun crews from movies like Ice Age and Madagascar. It’s amazing how the Hoppers team took something we’ve seen before and made it feel so new and genuinely enjoyable. It really shows there’s still a lot of life and creativity left in this kind of storytelling!

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2026-03-02 20:06